BUSY SEASON AT THE BROKEN SPOKE

The last few weeks at The Broken Spoke have been very busy indeed!
What with the grass growing, deer romping, and things being born and all...

I thought a farm status update was in order.

We have added many new things at the farm lately.

To start, the kids and I searched out and found a lady a few miles from us that raises SILKIE hens. These hilarious birds look like a puff of feathers. We bought 9 of these birds from her and to date they have been a joy. They love to be picked up and petted like kittens.

Some bits of info on them in case you are interested:

Silkies are well known for their calm, friendly temperament. Among the most docile of poultry, Silkies are considered an ideal pet. Hens are also exceptionally broody, and make good mothers. Though they are fair layers themselves, only laying about three eggs a week, they are commonly used to hatch eggs from other breeds and bird species.





We have many deer on the property and I always love to see them jumping fences and hauling butt across the fields. Deer are fast! We have spotted a new baby several times but cannot seem to get a good picture of him-her.
If you look very close in these two pictures you might spot a deer or two:






One of the more fascinating things we have done for the farm this summer has been to visit and participate in a local livestock auction.
A small dab of Mentholatum on the nostrils would be a smart move for those easily set off by odors!
The procedure for the auction is for the cows to be moved through a schute to a viewing area one by one. The bidding starts and it moves fast! It is not for the undecided. You pick a cow and go.. We heard "SOLD to Spratt" 9 times that day. It was a scary result for the newbies. And we received several odd looks from the crowd each time a cow was to be ours. It might have been Mike's flip flops and Hawaiian shirt? I did not realize that John Deere clothing was the normal attire for one of these events.
Anyway, believe it or not, there are actually cow hauling services so we arranged with a local guy to have our cows delivered that night..
In the 9 bovine that we purchased that day, 4 were-are pregnant.
I say were because this past week we had a new baby calve born at the Broken Spoke. Fortunately I was not there for the blessed event and the mama cow just took care of business on her own! One down, 3 to go!
If you look closely you can see BINGO in the picture. He is the newest addition and is oh so cute to boot!




This lovely creature is one of the largest that we bought that day. She is a cow. I just learned yesterday that a heifer is a cow that has NOT had a calve before. A cow has had a calve. Ahh, the things I have learned.





Besides the birth of Bingo, a nest of eggs that I have been watching finally hatched. I am not sure what type of bird these are, but if you look closely, you can see two baby birds snuggled up in a dirty old glove:




One thing that never seems to stop growing is the grass. When you do not have a tractor, this poses a problem...
Thank goodness for Craiglist Farm and Garden section! I am addicted.. There you can find people to mow your pasture, bale your hay and on and on and on.
Very helpful for a tractor-less newbie farm owner like myself:











The very best thing about the farm so far has been our sweet, gentle, loving horse Nifty. He came with the place and we are so lucky to be able to love him!